Kids Helping Kids, Inc.

The Bread Bake is KHK’s longest running event and is our primary KHK fundraiser in order to help underserved children in our own Fairfield County communities through our various other projects. We started this endeavor eleven years ago, raising only $300 with our first attempt. However, each year as we continued to grow our efforts and raise additional funds, one kitchen was just too small. In 2012, Grade A ShopRite partnered with us and donated the use of its commercial bakery for the Bread Bake, which allowed KHK to bake and sell 1,500 loaves of bread, raising $15,000. During this transition, we also started selling breads to friends and family, not only for their own enjoyment, but also offering the ability to allow us to donate breads to those in need on their behalf. In 2016, we made 2,400 loaves and donated over 600 to families in need. This project requires a tremendous amount of team effort and over 75 KHK youth volunteers are involved in the baking, and many more in the marketing and selling portion of the event.

For more information and pictures of the event watch our 2016 Bread Bake Video!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RoUnd-0RWs.

Our annual “Gift of Giving” project started in 2013 when a team of 5th grade kids, led by Ethan Lange, talked about their love of getting and giving gifts around the holidays. This idea has now turned into our Annual Gift of Giving event. Every year KHK partners with dozens of local schools and businesses to collect thousands of new and gently used gifts for all ages in order to set up a one-day popup store for underserved children to come in and shop for their loved ones around the holiday season. The holidays can sometimes be a tense time for those with limited money to buy gifts for those in their life, however this project was created in order to give children the ability pick out gifts for their family members and wrap them in festive paper. In the beginning of December, we start to sort and organize the gifts at our collection site, The Salvation Army, and then set up the popup store around the first weekend of December at The Boys and Girls Club. In exchange for shopping tickets, our guests first spend time making Caring Cards for children in local hospitals. This portion of the event is important so that our guests know they do not need money to be able to help someone in need. Last year, we had over 500 guests. Over 50 KHK volunteers worked as personal shopping assistants for our guests and wrapped all of the gifts. The Gift of Giving is a magical event and thus far, over 3,500 families have benefited from this project.

To hear from some of our guests, please watch our posted videos at: https://kidshelpingkidsct.org/gift-of-giving/.

KHK sets up collection containers for gently used books at various local sites. These books are then donated to schools and libraries in need. In the past KHK donated to build libraries in Stamford, New Orleans, and Zimbabwe. In 2013, with the help of five teen ambassadors and three adult facilitators, KHK partnered with the Yerwood Center in Stamford. KHK collected 34,500 donated books, and created a permanent Giving Library. A local school donated their used library bookshelves which were used to create the physical library. This library was created so that families can "own” books with no financial barrier. 110 youth volunteer for this 2-day event, which mainly consisted of sorting through and organizing the library, as well as helping the community pick out books.

The Handled with Care Dress Boutique is an annual project that started in 2012 when Ally, 16, was shopping for a prom dress and realized how hard it must be for girls that did not have the ability to afford a new dress for this event. She really wanted to create a beautiful and dignified shopping experience for girls without any financial burden so they too could be excited to attend fancy events and be able to dress accordingly. This seed of an idea grew into the Annual Handled with Care Dress Boutique. Each spring we collect hundreds of new and gently worn party dresses and shoes of all sizes, jewelry, and accessories. In order to have a successful collection and make this event memorable, KHK partners with many schools and stores in the local community. After our collection, we spend time organizing all of our donations by size and color so that our guests have a true shopping experience. Our doors open for a one-day boutique and underserved students from schools in the local area are invited to shop and enjoy our beauty bonuses of the day, which include hair consultations, makeup applications, and a photo shoot for all of our guests. Last year, we were able to offer a self-esteem workshop as well. Before they enter the store, each guest is asked to make Caring Cards for children in local hospitals. To date, over 3,000 girls have danced the night away in Handled with Care Boutique outfits.

To view some of the previous photo shoots please visit:
https://kidshelpingkidsct.org/handled-with-care-boutique/.

Spark A Project is intended to get our volunteers and ambassadors’ feet wet by leading a small project so that they can start to grow that project into a larger project or take a lead on another project. This is important because KHK has identified that incredible learning takes place from leading a project. The learning portion of KHK is vital to our unique mission of developing leadership skills through youth-led service projects. Some of our most recent Spark A Project events are Launching Legos, Fun for Science, Sports Day, Skate for Success, Baking Buddies and more! Those who have interest in sparking a new project identify their passion and KHK will help them find a way to integrate it into the local underserved community. KHK aids in the process of pairing our Spark A Project ideas with our existing partnerships within the community.

To learn more about this initiative check out:
https://kidshelpingkidsct.org/spark-a-project-meeting/.